Barbarian Fantasy
by seekerofjustice
Summary: "In a world of magic and monsters Shinji had a simple life on his family's farm until one day evil struck. His home burned to ash and now forced to bear the shame of a secret long hidden form him, now he and his new friends and allies most now come and work together as they set out to save their world from the evil that threatens it, in this epic tale of high adventure and fantasy.


_**Chapter 1**_

 _(Unknown person's P.O.V.)_

In a time a of legend and fantasy where magic and monsters existed and adventure could be found around every corner, an unlikely band of heroes would be known throughout the land as some of, if not the greatest, adventurers of all time, it is I, their chronicler, and I alone, who can tell you of their many adventures, good deeds and acts of heroism. Let me tell you the story of these mighty heroes and great adventurers.

Our tale begins long ago with a sorcerer named Gendo and his beloved wife Yui. Gendo was madly in love with Yui, so much so that his love was more like an obsession. Despite this, Yui returned the feelings that Gendo had for her. She and Gendo lived happily together for many years, but that all soon changed when Gendo started to practice the dark arts. Gendo was obsessed with gaining more and more power in the hopes that, if he was powerful enough, he could protect and save his beloved Yui from everything.

Yui soon realized that her beloved husband Gendo was losing his mind, and that there was no way to save him. She feared that he would eventually do something unspeakable, even unforgivable, evil things, thinking that it was all justified but in truth, it was not. She now knew that she could not tell him that she was pregnant with his child, so one night, she left their castle home. When Gendo asked where she was going, she lied to him and told him that she was going to go spend some time with her old friend, Atsuko, and then return home.

What Gendo didn't know was that she was leaving before her pregnancy would show. Gendo let her leave, and soon, Yui had arrived at her friend's house where she went into labor. Luckily, her friend, Atsuko, was a midwife and helped her to give birth to the child, or rather, I should say, children, because instead of just one baby coming out from the womb, two babies had come out, and after inspecting the two children, it was discovered that the two were indeed fraternal twins. The first baby that came out was a boy, and the second one was a girl.

Atsuko and her husband, Isamu, then handed the two children back to Yui, who held them close in a loving embrace. She had decided that the boy's name would be Shinji, and the girl's name would be Rei. Yui loved her newborn children so much, and wanted to be with them and watch them grow and mature, but sadly, she was unable to as she soon fell asleep, exhausted from giving birth to her two newborn children, but the next morning she was found dead in her blood-stained bed, a complication having caused her to bleed out.

The next morning, Yui's friend, Atsuko, and her husband, Isamu, woke up to the sound of the two babies crying, their mother having passed away in the night as they all slept.

 _(Third person P.O.V.)_

Atsuko put her hand on Yui's neck, trying to feel for a pulse, but there wasn't one. Atsuko's long-time dear friend, Yui, was dead, leaving her newborn children without a mother.

"Isamu, my dear husband, what should we do?! Yui is dead and the babies have no one else to take care of them!" Atsuko said to her husband in distress.

"I know, Atsuko, my love, but what can we do?" Isamu asked his beloved wife as he tried to calm her.

Atsuko's eyes lit up as she happily said, "What if we take them and raise them, ourselves, as our own?"

"I don't know, my dear Atsuko. What if we are not ready to raise children? What if we cannot do it? What if we fail? Isamu asked Atsuko, his tone filled with doubt.

"We must try, my dear husband. We will never know unless we try, and besides, you remember what Yui said to us when she came to us. Her husband, Gendo, is losing his very sanity, so we cannot give the children to him, as I fear only the gods know what he might do to them," Atsuko said fearfully, worry evident in her voice.

"I understand, my dear Atsuko. Very well. We will raise the children as though they were our own, but there is still a problem. and that is that we can only afford to care for only one of them. We have very little money," Isamu told his wife sadly as they both wondered about what else could they do.

Atsuko thinking about what her husband had said, tried to come up with a solution to their problem. She thought long and hard before she finally thought of a possible solution. She then turned to her husband and looked him in the eyes before telling him her idea as Isamu looked back into his wife's eyes.

"I think I may have a possible answer to this problem of ours," Atsuko said to her husband with hope in her eyes, and joy in her voice.

"What is it, then, Atsuko?" Isamu asked curiously.

"We take only one of the two children to care for, and the other, we take to our friend Yoshie in hopes that either she will raise the other child, or at the very least, take the other child to someone else who can," Atsuko said joyously to Isamu without taking her eyes off of her husband.

"Yes, that just might work, and it is probably for the best that the two are separated. After all, if Gendo does find out about them, then it will make it more difficult for him to find them, but the only question left now is, which of the two children do we take?" Isamu asked sadlyas he looked to Atsuko.

"Why not the boy? I mean after all we have always dreamed about having a son," Atsuko happily said to Isamu as she held the baby boy in her arms.

"Then, we shall take the boy and raise him as if he were our own son, which means that we must take the girl to Yoshie," Isamu said to Atsuko as he took the baby boy into his arms.

"Yes. Now, we must hurry. Gendo has probably already suspected that something is amiss since Yui did not come back home last night, which means that we must find a new home to raise the boy in and quickly take the girl to Yoshie," Atsuko said seriously.

"Right, I will get the horses," Isamu said as he left for the stables.

Atsuko was quickly packing their belongings, getting ready to leave. After packing everything, Isamu returned with the horses. They then both took the children and rode off, first to find their friend, Yoshie, and then to find a new home.

After a few hours of riding, both Atsuko and Isamu arrived at Yoshie's house where they knocked on the door. After a minute of waiting, Yoshie answered the door, and to her shock and surprise, saw her friends, Atsuko and her husband Isamu, and what was even more shocking was that she saw them both holding newborn babies in their arms.

"Atsuko, Isamu, what brings the both of you here, and are these two children yours?" Yoshie asked her two friends curiously as she looked at the two children.

"It is a long story, Yoshie, and we don't have time to tell you everything, but please just listen," Atsuko said, panicked, and then began to explain to Yoshie as quickly and as clearly as possible.

"So, these two children are not yours and Isamu's, but Yui's, but she cannot take care of them because she died a little while after she gave birth to them?" Yoshie asked, wanting to make sure that she understood correctly.

"Yes, and so Isamu and I are going to raise one of them because we can only afford to care of one of the children, and it will be much safer if they are separated. That way, Gendo will have a difficult time trying to find them if he does find out about them, and that is why we came to you. We were hoping that you could take the girl and raise her, or at the very least, find someone who is a good person who is willing to take her," Atsuko said, explaining the situation to Yoshie.

"I see, and which of the children are you and Isamu taking?" Yoshie asked curiously.

"The boy. Yui named him Shinji. He is the one we will care for. The girl's name is Rei, so can you help us?" Atsuko asked hoping, that Yoshie would say yes.

"Yes, I can, but not by taking the girl, myself. I only make enough money to take care of myself and my horse, and don't have enough to also take care of a child, but I can take her to someone who can," Yoshie explained, his tone filled with the pride that he felt for helping the poor child.

"Who, exactly, if you don't mind me asking?" Isamu asked politely.

"Our old friend Nobuo, one of the 24 Clerics, and the one who performed your wedding ceremony. He and the other Clerics will not turn away someone in need of help," Yoshie told them reassuringly.

"Yes. Nobuo and his fellow Clerics. Of course. How soon can you get Rei to their temple?" Isamu asked curiously.

"I can leave right now. I just have get my horse out of its stable. As for how long it will take me, it shouldn't take me too long. It's not very far from here. It should only take me a few hours on horseback," Yoshie said confidently, assuring both Isamu and Atsuko before going off to get her horse from its stable.

Yoshie got her horse out, took Rei into her arms, and was getting ready to leave.

"Be careful, Yoshie. Gendo's soldiers might have already been dispatched by now," Atsuko told her good friend worriedly.

"Atsuko is right. Please do be careful, Yoshie. You must protect the girl until you get to the temple," Isamu said, also sounding worried.

"Don't worry. I will," Yoshie said before ridding towards the temple.

After a few hours of riding, Yoshie stopped by a nearby river to get a drink for both her and her horse as the baby girl, Rei, slept silently. After getting a drink of water and resting a bit, Yoshie mounted her horse, and then continued on her way to the temple. After a few more hours of riding, Yoshie had finally made it to the temple. She dismounted her horse and walked up to the front door where she grabbed one of the knockers and knocked on the door loud enough for someone inside to hear it. After a good two and a half minutes of waiting, the door opened revealing the person who answered it to be her old friend, the Cleric Nobuo.

"Oh. Yoshie, my old friend. What brings you here?" Nobuo asked curiously, surprised to see his friend Yoshie pay him and his temple a visit.

"I come bearing grave news," Yoshie then said sadly before explaining everything to Nobuo.

"I see. Then, please come in, and bring the baby girl with you. You must be tired from your journey," Nobuo said, his tone filled with sadness in response to the turn of events as he opened the door to let Yoshie and the baby in her arms in.

"Please wait here. I must bring my fellow Clerics so that we all may speak of what we are to do about the child," Nobuo said,trying to sound hopeful, before leaving to get his fellow Clerics.

Soon, Yoshie found herself standing before all 24 Clerics, Nobuo included, as they discussed what to do about Rei. After several hours of debate and discussion it was finally decided that the Clerics would take the baby girl, raise her, and even teach her their ways. After the decision was made, Yoshie left the temple and returned to her home where she told Atsuko and Isamu that the Clerics had agreed to take the girl. Both Atsuko and Isamu were happy to hear the good news, and they, themselves, soon left to find a new home. They then found a small village where they were welcomed by kind-hearted people, and with open arms. In only a few days, the couple had bought a new home,and were raising Shinji as if he were their own son.

Atsuko would care for the boy at home while her Isamu took care of all of them by farming, blacksmithing, and hunting animals for food. One day, while Atsuko was busy feeding Shinji, and Isamu had just finished working the fields and came inside to get a drink, a knock on their front door could be heard, and Isamu went to answer it. When he answered the door, he saw Gendo's soldiers standing on the other side.

"Are you Isamu, one of the friends of Yui, the wife to our lord and master, Gendo?" one of the soldiers asked loudly and clearly.

"Yes, I am, and may I ask, what is the problem?" Isamu asked sternly.

"Quite a while back, our lord's wife, Yui, paid a visit to you and your wife, Atsuko, but never returned home. When we found her, she was dead. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" another soldier asked seriously.

"Actually, yes, I do. She died of disease when she came to visit us. My wife and I then had to leave before whatever disease that killed her spread to us and our child," Isamu said to the soldiers, lying to them to protect himself, his wife, Atsuko, and their adopted son, Shinji.

"I see. Very well, then. Thank you for your time and patience. Lord Gendo will be very grateful for the valuable information that you have given to us," the lead soldier said before he and his fellow soldiers took their leave.

Isamu then went back inside. " Darling, we must be careful. We have to make sure tthat Shinji is safe, no matter what," he told Atsuko worriedly.

Meanwhile, in the castle fortress of the dark sorcerer, Gendo sat in his throne room as his soldiers had just returned and approached him. The soldiers then knelt down and reported to their lord and master.

"Speak. What news have you brought me?" Gendo said loudly and clearly.

"My lord, we bring information regarding your wife's death," the soldier in the middle said worriedly as he raised his head to look at his master.

"I see. Then, please continue to speak," Gendo demanded, not taking his eyes off of them.

"Well, my lord, according to your wife's old friends, Isamu and his wife Atsuko, when she came to visit them, she died of disease soon afterwards," the soldier in the middle said sadlyto his master while keeping a straight face.

"I see. Thank you for that information. You are dismissed, so you may go now," Gendo said to the three soldiers, sounding calm and collected.

"Yes, my lord." The three soldiers then stood up and left the throne room.

After a while, Gendo, himself, had also left his throne room where he walked down a hallway into a room full of things that one would expect a dark sorcerer to have, but the one thing that stood out the most was a table, and on it was some kind of magical casket with a window. Inside was the dead body of Gendo's wife, Yui, her body being magically preserved so that her body would not decay as time passed. Gendo then got down on his knees as he looked down through the clear window of the casket as he began to cry.

"How could something so small take you away from me like this? I swear that I will make this up to you, my love. I will bring you back, no matter the cost, even if I must to take many lives to make it happen, I will make it so!" Gendo said loudly, almost shouting as he mourned over the death of his beloved wife, Yui.

 _(Time skip: 14 years later)_

Shinji was now out and about, tending to the fields with his father, Isamu. Shinji and his father had been farming since dawn and were working hard. They both then took a short break to get a drink of water and rest a little after working for so long in the fields before getting back to work, doing some blacksmith work, making horseshoes and doing some metallurgy. After finally finishing all of their work, and before the sun had set, Shinji's mother, Atsuko, had dinner prepared. The three of them all sat down and ate together as a family, but as they were eating their dinner, loud noises could be heard from outside. Isamu then went see what was making all of the loud noise and saw that Gendo's soldiers were attacking their village, killing all of the villagers. Isamu ran back inside and grabbed his sword.

"Father, what's wrong?!" Shinji asked worriedly.

"Our home, as well as the rest of the village, is being attacked!" Isamu shouted, horrified at the turn of events.

"Atsuko, quickly, you must take Shinji and get out of here, now!" Isamu said urgently.

"But, what about you?!" Atsuko asked frightenedly.

"I am a warrior. I must stand and fight," Isamu replied courageously.

"But, Isamu-" Atsuko said worriedly before Isamu cut her off.

"Do not argue with me, woman! We have been over this, already! Now, take our son and get out of here! Hurry!" Isamu said urgently as he looked back at her and Shinji.

"But, father, I want to stay and fight by your side! You have been teaching me how to fight ever since I was little!" Shinji said, trying to sound braveto his father.

"No, Shinji! You are not ready! Do as I have said, and go with your mother, now, before it is too late! Please, Shinji!" Isamu said sadly as they both looked each other in the eyes.

With nothing left to say, Shinji and his mother ran out of the house and tried to escape while Isamu stayed and fought off as many of the soldiers as he could along with all of the other villagers who owned weapons and chose to stay and fight. They all fought against the soldiers who were armed with swords and spears. Atsuko and Shinji ran into the nearby forest where they found a nearby hollow tree which had an opening big enough for just one person.

"Shinji, quickly, get in here!" Atsuko told Shinji as she placed the boy inside of the hollow tree.

"But, mother, what about you?!" Shinji asked worriedly, frightened.

"Do not worry about me! I will be fine! Please, Shinji, just stay in here and hide from the soldiers until they leave, and no matter what you hear, do not come out from this tree, do you understand?!" Atsuko asked Shinji, sounding scared and worried as she looked him in the eyes.

"Yes, mother. I understand," was all Shinji said sadly before he went into the hollow tree to hide, but not before his mother hugged him close to her and then gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Mommy will always love you!" she said sadly.

With all said and done, Atsuko then fled, leaving Shinji to hide in the hollow tree. It wasn't long before Shinji could hear that the battle had moved to the forest, and Shinji could hear the sounds of weapons clashing against each other, as well as the sounds of weapons entering and exiting bodies.

When Shinji could no longer hear the sounds of the fighting, he looked through a small hole in the hollow tree and saw that his mother, Atsuko, had been captured and was surrounded by soldiers. Shinji wanted to get out to try to save his mother, but he remembered the promise that he made to her to stay where he was and not move, no matter what. He continued to watch and tried to listen to what his mother and the soldiers were saying to each other, but unfortunately, he was too far away.

When Atsuko and the soldiers had finished speaking to each other, Shinji could only stay where he was and watch silently and helplessly as the soldiers plunged their swords and spears into his mother's body, killing her before leaving. After the soldiers had left, Shinji then raced out from the hollow tree to the side of his mother's now-dying body. Shinji held his mother as he wept for her.

"Mother! No! No! Please! Mother! Please don't die! Please don't leave me!" Shinji screamed as he continued to weep for his mother.

"Shinji, there is something that I must tell you," Shinji's mother cried. "Your father and I adopted you because your birth mother died in childbirth, and your birth father is the one behind this." She then coughed and cried as she put a hand on Shinji's face. "We could only care for one child, so your father and I couldn't keep your sister... Find her... I know it's scary, but if anyone can stop Gendo, it is his own blood... Mama loves you..." She then stopped talking as the life left her completely.

Shinji wept for his dead parents and fellow villagers as he ran off to look for survivors. Shinji shouted, "IS THERE ANYONE HERE WHO IS STILL ALIVE?! PLEASE, I DON'T WANT TO BE ALL ALONE!" as he continued to weep, searching for survivors. Shinji ran through the now empty-town, yelling, "Hello?! Anybody!?" with tears streaming down his face until he spotted Toji coming out of a pile of hay, holding his crying younger sister. He then heard something else, and turned around to spot Kensuke coming out of the cellar of a now-destroyed home. He smiled, still crying as, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hikari coming out from a stack of barrels.

"What kind of monster would do this?" she asked, horrified,with tears in her eyes.

Shinji looked down at the ground, hanging his head with so many emotions going through his mind like shame, anger, and hatred, just to name a few, as he said, "One that I share blood with!" He quickly ran off, his shocked friends following him out of confusion. Shinji then came to the buried remains of his home and dug through the remains until he found a sword. He held it tightly and with a rage-filled voice said, "That's why I have to put an end to this monster's evil once and for all."

 _In the distant mountains…_

 _(Third Person P.O.V.)_

Far off from the ruined sight of Shinji's village lay a mountain and jungle region. Traversing through it was a young knight in blue and green armor with chainmail underneath, carrying a broadsword and a rounded shield as he ventured through the borders between each region. He soon saw something in the distance and walked up to it, only to be shocked at what he saw.

It was a giantess who towered over all around her, and who was wielding a giant mystical spear. She had wild orange hair with a bow on top, and wore a strapless cloth top to cover her chest and matching loincloth as well as bands on her wrists and ankles, and one band on her left arm. She also wore a gold earring in one ear, and she was barefoot.

The knight stared at the 75-foot-tall giantess warrior standing over her defeated hunt—a giant crocodile.

"Um… Hello, there," the knight then worryingly said, getting the giantess warrior's attention, even though her size was larger than his.

"Oh, a man?" she said curiously as she glared at the knight before her.

"I mean no harm, but why the hostility?" he asked, barely able to hide the fear in his voice.

"I am an Amazon. Naturally, we don't usually get many men in our territory. Now, speak. Who are you, and why are you here? If I do not like your answer, then consider yourself crushed like an insect under my heel!" she demanded.

"My name is Leo. I am a Knight of a sworn order, on a test to find items to get into the ranks. I seek a magic spear that was said to be in these parts," Leo answered confidently.

"Then, you have found it, for the spear you seek is the very one I hold in my hand. If you want it, then you will have to take it by force, but I warn you, little insect of a man, that this will not be such an easy task!" she gloated.

Leo pondered before answering. "No, thank you. My own life is not worth a magic spear."

"Hm?" the young Amazon asked in confusion.

"I don't wish to take what you have. Had I been successful in getting the spear from you, the Amazons would be at war with all human kingdoms. I'd rather risk my place in the ranks of my order if it means fending off war," Leo said, sounding brave before the giant.

"Hmmm… You are very pure of heart. That is something that has become very rare among all people as time goes on," the Amazonian said happily.

"Matters of introductions are in order, here. I haven't gotten your name," Leo said with pride.

"Oh! Forgive me. I am called Asuka. I am the greatest warrior of my tribe, and therefore, my people's champion and sworn defender," Asuka answered pridefully.

"Easy enough when you are also a giantess," Leo said sarcastically.

"Oh, you mean my giant form? Please forgive me. I needed to grow to such a large size if I were to have any chance of slaying this beast that I was hunting," Asuka said with pride.

"So, you weren't born a giantess?" Leo asked, surprised.

"Oh, no. It's all thanks to my gift from the gods that they bestowed upon me for showing my worth and proving myself as the mightiest warrior of my tribe, along with my magical spear," Asuka exclaimed.

"I see. So, you can alter your size," Leo said, sounding interested.

"Yes. I have the power to change my size at will…" she said, shrinking down and becoming a normal-sized Amazon, measured at a little over 6 feet tall. "I can also exceed the size you saw before," she gloated, demonstrating by speaking a mystical word in an ancient language, and suddenly, she began to grow to an immense size before the young knight's eyes. She exceeded her previous size, as she said, and now stood at over 180 feet tall.

"So, what do you think, little knight? Are you not impressed?" Asuka asked pridefully as she bent down to look at the young knight, who simply stood there in amazement.

"Very much so. I can tell that you are not just out here to hunt. You wanted to catch this game for a long journey, am I correct?" Leo asked amicably.

"Most observant. Yes. I am an Amazon warrior, and despite what many people may think about us, we are noble warriors who are good at heart. We will help others, but only if the people we choose to help are good of heart like us. I set out just yesterday from my village to accomplish a goal of mine, to find the young man of herculean strength and help him on his journey for righteous vengeance against the monster who slaughtered his family and destroyed his home, and thus also free this world from such an evil as it was prophesied to me by a female soothsayer who visited my village not long ago," Asuka explained, taking pride in her quest.

"I see. In that case, allow me to accompany you in finding this man," Leo said happily.

"You? No offense to your position, but I doubt a little man like you could possibly be of any help to me on my quest," Asuka exclaimed.

"Unassigned I may be, but I am still a knight, and it is a knight's duty to protect the land, be it one man or an army. If what you say is true, then I will not stand by and do nothing. This land must be protected by a hand from the kingdoms of knights, too, and what better way to show how we can work together with the Amazonian race?" Leo asked, sounding almost as prideful as the Amazon before him.

"Hmmm… Very well. It would seem that there is no frightening you off, so you may accompany me on my journey. Just try not to get in my way. I can't be held accountable if we must fight a giant creature and I accidentally step on you," Asuka said jokingly.

"I hold no fear in the face of danger, be it monster or army," Leo said bravely.

Asuka smiled. "Oh. I think I am beginning to like you, little man," Asuka said happily as she picked up her slain enemy with ease, not only because of her great size, but as an Amazon warrior, she had been raised to be strong, as evidenced by the muscular nature of her body.

Leo then leaped to Asuka's other arm and climbed up to her shoulder. Asuka looked at him in confusion.

"What? I can't be expected to fall behind while you cover more miles in a single step than a normal human could when riding on a horse," Leo calmly explained.

"A good point, little knight, but I spent quite a lot of my energy killing my prey. We are in no hurry, and besides…" A loud rumbling sound came from Asuka's stomach, making her smile sheepishly. "I haven't eaten anything since I left on my journey yesterday. Tonight, we eat and rest, and then continue on with our quest," she declared, sounding bossy.

Later…

Leo and Asuka worked together in cooking the slain beast. Asuka shrunk to about 15 feet tall so that she could eat plenty, and so they would have some food left over for when they next needed to stop and rest.

"You seem awfully focused on being larger than your normal Amazonian size," Leo curiously observed, eating his meat.

"I choose to embrace the gift the gods gave me fully," Asuka said. "When I wish to be my normal size, it should be with a worthy enough man to call my own," Asuka flirtingly said, giving the young knight a wink as a hint as to what she meant.

 **(Tone.)**

"Oh. I get it. You know, this is the first time I've ever had this much interaction with an Amazon. The higher knights of my order say they don't do much conversation with others," Leo said, sounding happy about having met the Amazon before him.

"Well, that is because we Amazons hold ourselves in such high regard as warriors. For us, we prefer to associate only with others whom we consider to be just as great, if not equally as great, warriors as us," Asuka pridefully said pridefully as she took a large bite out of a piece of meat that she was eating.

"I understand that. I should consider myself honored, then," Leo said joyously.

"I will say this: you are a very interesting man so far, but I still have not seen your skill in battle. Also, don't get the wrong idea. You are an interesting young man, but there is a strong chance that a woman like me is out of your league. Oh, and if you do anything like try to grope me, or look at me while I bathe, or anything like that, I will kill you, whether it involves impaling you with my spear, stepping on you like a little insect under my foot, or crushing you like a grape in my hands, is that clear?" Asuka asked threateningly as she glared at the young knight, making sure that he understood quite well what would happen if he even so much as thought about doing such things.

"Crystal," he replied, slightly scared. "We will be a good pair, Asuka."

"I hope you're right," Asuka said happily.

The next morning, Asuka had found a nearby waterfall and river and decided to bathe a little in it before eating. Just before she could take off her clothes, a tentacle came out of the deep-water pool and tried to grab her unawares, but Leo rushed out just in time.

"Watch out, Asuka!" Leo said excitedly, drawing his sword and slicing the tentacle in half, allowing the creature—a giant octopus—to surface in anger.

"A Fiend Kraken! They're deadly giant mollusk predators!" Leo exclaimed in excitement. "If you stepped in that water with your guard down, you'd have been eaten."

"Well, then, it's a good thing that you came when you did," Asuka said happily, holding her spear and charging, stabbing the Kraken in the side.

"Guess your spear doesn't exactly do much against a thick-skinned Kraken," Leo said bravely.

"It is resilient, but it won't be for long," Asuka confidently said confidently, chanting her words. Her muscles pulsed and bulged as she, again, grew to an enormous size and towered over the beast. She was now a good 175 feet tall, her muscular body increasing in mass with her. Her right foot overtook half the river.

Leo made the first move and cut a few more tentacles before stabbing into the Kraken's beak with all his might. Asuka then followed up by stepping on remaining tentacles, causing the ground to shake from her massive step, and thus, also holding down the Kraken so that it couldn't escape. She then raised her spear over her head and thrusted it down into the beast's head, killing it with one blow.

"Well, now, since this thing tried to eat us, I think that it is only fitting as a form of poetic justice that we eat it," Asuka said joyfully.

"Good idea. We can save some for later in the journey, too," Leo stated happily.

"Right, but first, I am going to do what I was going to do before this beast interrupted me. Here. You take it and start to prepare it together with our leftover meat from last night while I bathe. Now, get going before I kill you for staying and trying to peep," Asuka said threateningly as she looked down at Leo, seriously making sure that she got her message across.

Leo acknowledged her and dragged the large Kraken back to the campsite, preparing it together with the remaining crocodile meat over the fire. After a few minutes, Asuka returned. She had shrunk to accommodate the mass of the river and waterfall, reduced to about 12 feet tall, and was putting her clothes back on and drying her hair with a cloth that Leo had left for her.

"I have to say it, you really like being bigger all the time," Leo said jokingly.

"And I have to admit, it brings a certain joy to myself whenever I am. I feel a sense of freedom as a towering giantess," Asuka said happily as she sat down and helped to finish cooking their meal.

After the food was ready, the two of them ate and talked a little about their journey and experiences.

"So, after you got your gift from the gods, you usually stayed at a larger height than most of your tribe?" Leo asked curiously.

"For interactions, I normally take on the form of normal-sized Amazon warrior, but if I face something much larger, then I have to grow if I am to stand any chance of defeating it," Asuka said calmly.

"Huh. The size you take depends on how dangerous the creature is, I suppose," Leo said, still curious.

"I place my size forms into Classes. 15-50 is my standard size range. When I assume a size between that, it is called Goliath. Anything more than 50 feet is Behemoth. After that it is Titan, ranging from 100-250 feet, and after that is Colossus, which is 300 feet or more," Asuka explained, her tone filled with pride regarding her own power.

"Wow! That's really big! Have you ever attained heights like that before?" Leo asked, still curious about his new ally.

"No. Not yet, at least. I have yet to fight a creature or encounter a situation where I would have to grow to such large sizes," Asuka said calmly as she ate, taking large bites of her food.

"I see. Personally, I like swordplay and using light magic, to boot. It helps my skills to stay sharp," Leo said with a hint of pride.

Both Asuka and Leo continued to talk and eat. They eventually finished their meal, and Leo looked on in astonishment at how much Asuka had eaten.

"You're a big eater," Leo bluntly said bluntly.

"But, of course. I am an Amazon warrior, after all. I need to eat a large fill, even at my normal size, to maintain my strength," Asuka said pridefullyas she winked at Leo and flexed her biceps to further her point.

"Fair enough. Shall we be going, then?" Leo asked happily.

"We shall, indeed," Asuka said happily **,** chanting and growing until she was 285 feet tall. She lowered her hand, and Leo got on and climbed to her shoulder.

"This is so nice. It's like being on a moving rampart," Leo said excitedly.

Asuka then began to walk, covering much more ground than she would at normal size as every step she took shook the ground.

"This is nice. Hold on tight, little Knight. After all, who knows how much further we have to go until we find this young warrior we are looking for," Asuka said, excited for the journey ahead.


End file.
